Valuable goods and documents are often left unattended in mailboxes, especially in rural or suburban areas where mail is not deposited directly into a home door slot. A vandal may damage many mailboxes in a single night, causing the contents to be scattered and damaged. Thieves open and remove the contents of mailboxes to obtain checks, personal information, prescription drugs, and other valuables.
Some vandalism is prevented simply by constructing mailboxes of stronger or more resilient materials. To protect the contents, some mailboxes have a lock, to which both the owner and the postman have keys. These locks are typically simple “cabinet” locks with a finger that rotates 90° between locked and unlocked positions. Such locks are a deterrent to casual snoops, but are easily forced open by thieves. Also, the keys are simple and can be easily duplicated and the mailbox owner does not have exclusive possession of the key.
Reinforced mailboxes are available that have a convenient unlocked entrance for use by the postman and a locking access door, with some type of baffle between. The locking door may have a hasp for a padlock or a built-in “cylinder” lock. With such a dual-access mailbox, the owner of the mailbox has the only keys and the postman is not inconvenienced by having to unlock and lock the mailbox when delivering mail. The baffle prevents thieves from retrieving items out of the mailbox by inserting an arm or tool through the unlocked entrance.
Such a mailbox deters thieves greatly, but is still vulnerable. Most padlocks can be cut, given a strong enough tool, and cylinder locks can generally be opened by a very strong blow to the front of the cylinder. Tools are available that allow thieves to punch out a cylinder lock from a reinforced mailbox and remove the contents in only a couple of minutes. Therefore, there is a need for a reinforced mailbox that requires sufficient time, skill, and tools to open it that experienced thieves pass it by in favor of one easier to open.
Also, padlocks are somewhat inconvenient to use. In the case of a keyed padlock, the keyway is at the bottom and the body of the padlock must move approximately an inch vertically relative to the hasp and be rotated in order to open. Unlocking or locking such a padlock requires the use of two hands, one for the key and the other to manipulate the padlock. If one is holding items, such as the retrieved mail, the items must be put down to leave both hands free to operate the padlock. Thus, there is a need for a reinforced mailbox that is convenient to unlock and lock, even while holding an item.
There is further a need for secure enclosures for uses other than receiving mail. For example, law enforcement personnel often confiscate or otherwise receive items in evidence that must be maintained securely. They may have to interrupt their duties and travel a long distance to take a gull, a packet of cash, illegal drugs, or other items to a central location for deposit into evidence storage. There is a need for a secure dropbox for uses such as law enforcement evidence deposit. Such a dropbox must be convenient for the depositor to use, yet very secure to maintain a proper chain of custody.